Hard on the heels of the Prime Minister, Lord Mandelson has been in West Cumbria to tell business leaders that the region is central to Britain’s low-carbon industrial revolution.
He told over 250 delegates at the 2009 Cumbria Economic Summit that the UK was on the cusp of an industrial revolution. Saying: "I firmly believe we can drive this green world revolution from our regions. What we see here in Cumbria is a market leader for the country as a whole."
Lord Mandelson had been invited to speak at the event by Cumbria Vision chairman Roger Liddle, with whom he co-wrote The Blair Revolution, in the mid 90s. The summit had been organised by Cumbria Vision, and before Lord Mandelson’s presentation delegates heard from Andrew Tinkler, chief executive of the Stobart Group, who told those gathered of his company’s ambitious plans to run an air service from the county, having recently purchased Southend Airport, with the aim of quickly establishing a link between the two.
Declaring that Cumbria was "a place of extraordinary beauty and enormous potential," Lord Mandleson spoke at length about the role Sellafield could play in the region’s future now that it has been
nominated as a potential site for new nuclear build. "We need to use this, and the decommissioning and clean up work for the existing facilities, as a catalyst for making the region a base from which companies can develop expertise in civil nuclear management – and win contracts throughout the UK and the world," he declared, stressing the need "to ensure that we are presenting major international investors with a regional offer that is coherent and compelling and that Britain has the energy infrastructure it needs to adapt to both greater use of nuclear power and renewable energy, wherever it’s generated.
"If you rise to the challenge of a single regional vision for a low carbon industrial future we will back you in securing extra resources and support any effort to leverage investment in the region," he declared. He promised to support the work of West Cumbria Vision Board, not sideline it.
Lord Mandelson told delegates that he had been impressed with the work making parts for tidal barrages at Bendalls Engineering in Carlisle, which he had visited on the way to Sellafield.
Following his speech at the summit Lord Mandelson met with senior figures from the local councils and economic regeneration bodies, before heading to Egremont to meet Labour Party members at the Market Hall. During that meeting he spoke of his admiration for local MP Jamie Reed, describing him as "bright, intelligent and likeable, but most of all, someone who gets it."
A public meeting is being held to give communities the chance to learn more about the nomination of land in West Cumbria as potential sites for a number of new nuclear reactors. The Nuclear New Build Nomination (NNBN) team, which is led by urban regeneration company West Lakes Renaissance, will stage the event at Whitehaven Civic Hall on Wednesday, March 18. The event is being hosted by West Cumbria Site Stakeholder Group and chaired by Councillor David Moore. There will be two public sessions during the day – between 2.30pm and 4pm and from 5.30pm to 7pm.
The meeting will hear that significant progress has been made to address the issue of an improved connection to the National Grid, with overland and sub-sea connections currently being considered. An improved grid connection will not only serve any new nuclear power station but also the other renewable energy industries expected to develop in West Cumbria over the coming years, such as wind, tidal, wave and biomass.
For more information on Cumbria Vision and the Economic Summit visit its website, www.cumbriavision.co.uk
Photo - Peter Mandelson is welcomed to Egremont Market Hall
by Alan and Marion Alexander